- Date
- October 31, 2006, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Wakefield, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N20931Cessna 172M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 26, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO-21
- FAA report
- 20061031022929A
- Case key
- 64803
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The student pilot's failure to maintain control during the landing. A factor to the accident was the wind gusts.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
While on a solo cross country flight in a Cessna 172M, the student pilot elected to divert instead of continuing with his planned flight after the airplane's radios began to operate intermittently and the electrical system failed. During the landing at the diversionary airport, the winds were gusting at 18 to 25 knots, though the winds had been originally forecasted to be favorable for his route of flight. During the landing the airplane lost "lift," touched down on the nose landing gear, and porpoised about three times before the student pilot was able to regain control. A post accident examination of the airplane revealed that it had incurred substantial damage. No anomalies with the electrical system were discovered.
Factual narrative
While on a solo cross country flight in a Cessna 172M, the student pilot elected to divert instead of continuing with his planned flight after the airplane's radios began to operate intermittently and the electrical system failed. During the landing at the diversionary airport, the winds were gusting at 18 to 25 knots, though the winds had been originally forecast to be favorable for his route of flight. During the landing the airplane lost "lift," touched down on the nose landing gear, and porpoised about three times before the student pilot was able to regain control. A post accident examination of the airplane revealed that it had incurred substantial damage. No anomalies with the electrical system were discovered.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N20931
- Reported as
- Cessna 172M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17263871
- Airframe hours
- 14,107
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Norfolk Aviation Inc., doing business as Mercury Flight Center
- Registered owner
- Red Rock Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 1, 2006
- Departed
- EMV · Emporia, VA
- Destination
- AKQ
- Airport
- AKQ · Wakefield Municipal Airport, runway 20, 4,337 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 76 total · 70 in this make and model · 26 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 18 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.